Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose Lawyers in Pittsburgh

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Representing Victims Throughout Western Pennsylvania and Beyond

When your doctor reports that you have a serious illness such as cancer or heart disease, you are naturally frightened. However, it is even worse to be misdiagnosed or told that everything is fine when it is not. This second scenario means treatment delays or that you receive the wrong treatment that either does nothing or actually harms you.

When a delay in diagnosis or the application of the wrong treatment because of a misdiagnosis causes injury, the medical professionals involved could be liable for the damaged they caused.

What Illnesses Are Most Frequently Misdiagnosed?

At the Pittsburgh medical malpractice law firm of Berger & Lagnese, LLC our attorneys know the types of conditions most often cited in medical malpractice cases. For example, patients with these illnesses may face delayed or incorrect treatment because of misdiagnoses of:

Although these diseases are among the most common misdiagnosed conditions, having one of these illnesses and being misdiagnosed or experiencing a delay in diagnosis does not mean that you are the victim of medical malpractice.

How to Prove Medical Malpractice After a Misdiagnosis

As noted above, simply being misdiagnosed does not always rise to the level of medical malpractice. Rather, the plaintiff and his or her attorney must show that the doctor failed to provide medical care that met the accepted standard of care. The injured person must also prove that:

A doctor-patient relationship existed. For example, it would be difficult to sue a friend or relative who advised you about medical treatment unless that person was also your doctor.

There was an injury. For example, the doctor may have been negligent, but unless you can demonstrate that the negligence hurt you, there is probably no case.

There was a cause and effect relationship between the negligent care – the deviation from the accepted standard – and the injury. For example, if you were undergoing treatment for cancer and developed Lyme disease, it would be hard to make a connection between the two events and you would probably have no case.

These and other factors make it critical to have a lawyer who understands both the legal and medical issues involved in a medical malpractice case.

Contact a Skilled Misdiagnosis Attorney Today for a Free Consultation!